And It Felt Like A Kiss: Part Six
by yestermeyesteryou
Summary: Part Six of the multi-part story 'And It Felt Like A Kiss'. Puck and Blaine have a relationship built on trust and patience, but will it be able to survive the mistake one of them is about to make?
1. Now I know what they're saying

_Disclaimer__: The author of this piece does not, in any way, profit from the story and all creative rights to the characters from Glee belong to their original creators._

___Summary__: Part Six of the multi-part story 'And It Felt Like A Kiss'. Puck and Blaine have a relationship built on trust and patience, but will it be able to survive the mistake one of them is about to make?_

___Notes____: Will be two chapters in total._

___Enjoy!_

* * *

"She's a fucking doll man, congratulations."

Blaine shot Puck a stern look, who cleared his throat in return.

"I mean, she's a doll." Handing over the bundle of joy that was Emma, the little addition to the Anderson family, back to her father, Puck shrugged apologetically.

"Dude, it's fine. It's not like she understands anything yet, kind of like a puppy. And by the rate at which I'm going I reckon she'll grow up to be a pretty hard-core gangster rapper." Cooper held his daughter up and brought her little face close to his own. "Yes, you will, MC Cutie."

"Did I just hear you compare our daughter to a dog?" Becca came back into the living room with a bottle, accepting the baby into her arms to sit down on the couch.

"Uhm, no?"

Puck pulled on Blaine's arm looking at Becca trying to get the little girl to open her mouth to eat, without much success. "I want one too."

Laughing, Blaine looked up at his boyfriend. "You already have one."

"Yes, and if I could I would take her back, but I can't because her birth-mom was such a bitch and gave her away." Realizing that he was still having a bit of a problem keeping the language at bay, Puck looked at Becca. "Sorry…"

Once again Blaine laughed. "Your lack of respect and understanding for parenting is almost impressive."

"Well, boys." Cooper took a seat next to his little family. "You can borrow her as much as you want. But I'll warn you, she's fucking annoying."

"Cooper!" Becca elbowed him as careful as possible, managing to do so without waking up the recently asleep baby.

"What, it's true! And I still love her, which I think makes me a real stand-up guy. If you were as annoying as her I'd be out the door long ago."

"She's a baby, Cooper."

"Judging from the fact that our whole apartment is full of diapers and tiny little baby socks I happen to be very aware of that fact."

"Good."

Scooting closer to his daughter, Cooper bent down and gave her a soft kiss on her forehead, before looking up at his brother. "But seriously guys, feel free to baby-sit like, whenever."

* * *

"I didn't know you had such a baby-fever." Blaine twisted the key to their front door and pushed it open to get inside, followed by Puck.

"I don't, but she was fucking cute." Walking into the kitchen, Puck opened the fridge to dig out a big bottle of water, proceeding to down almost half.

Blaine looked on, smile prying on his lips. "You're cute."

Splaying a hand across his chest, Puck tried to seem offended. "Cute? I'm badass. I'm like Superman, tiny baby socks and pastel blankets just happen to be my Kryptonite. If babies stayed so small forever I'd go to the shop and buy like, ten."

Grabbing the bottle from Pucks outstretched hand, Blaine brought it to his lips to take a sip. "Wow, you know for a person who actually fathered a child it's astonishing just how ignorant you are." He tried to swallow the laughter threatening to escape by letting water pour down his throat.

"Wait, are you saying you can't buy babies at Target?"

"Well, you can, but only on Black Friday and they run out really fast, it's just not a realistic plan."

Suddenly Puck was right in front of him, hands on Blaine's hips pushing him backwards against the kitchen counter. "Maybe I'll just have to get you knocked up then…"

Blaine's twisted laughter filled the room as he put his hands on Puck's shoulders, shaking his head. "That is the strangest thing I have ever heard in my entire life, now please leave me alone for a couple of hours so that I can try and forget you ever said that."

Putting his arms up in defeat, Puck took a couple of steps backwards. "Alright, I was going for a run anyway."

"Ah damn, I wanted to go with you. But I have to plan lessons."

Turning around and exiting the kitchen, Puck spoke over his shoulder. "No, no, you just stay here and be boring, while I'm running along the river breaking a sweat in the brisk air, watching the colors of the leaves change on the trees in the park, having the time of my life." He stood by the bed and peeled off his t-shirt and jeans, replacing them with sweatpants, a wife beater and his favorite hoodie.

"That sounds so tempting, don't leave me here…" Blaine walked up behind him, putting his arms around his waist and digging his head between Puck's broad shoulder blades. "I changed my mind, I'll let you try to knock me up if you want to…"

Puck laughed, turning around in his boyfriend's arms and giving him a kiss on the head. "Later, killer."

"Fine."

* * *

Scanning the cereal shelf at the little grocery store on the way home from work, Blaine tried to find the Lucky Charms. Starting to contemplate that they might be out, a shadow dimmed his vision just slightly as an arm stretched up to the top shelf, producing a box of said type of cereal and holding it in front of him. Confused and a little embarrassed because apparently he'd been speaking out loud without noticing, he grabbed the box and turned sideways. "Hey, thanks…" However, the lump instantly formed in his throat prevented him from saying anything else at that moment.

"Lucky Charms, right?" And just like that, right there in the grocery store aisle, Mark looked at him with wistful eyes and a gentle smile.

"Uh, yeah, right. You remembered." Blaine's heart was racing a mile a minute, making a mental note to stand up straight and to immediately stop stumbling over his words even though he hadn't been this shocked in a very, very long time.

"How could I forget? You ate it almost every day."

"Yeah… Uhm, so, thanks." He reminded himself that he had other things he was supposed to do other than making a clean-up in aisle four necessary due to a puddle of drool at his feet, caused by his jaw having literally dropped to his knees. Turning back towards the shelf, he was wondering if he was blushing furiously or if he'd rather turned super pale due to having had the blood drained from his face, because it felt sort of really hot and cold at the same time. "I also need Honey Nut Cheerios…" He said mostly to himself.

Mark reached up towards the top shelf again, handing Blaine a box. "I didn't know you ate those."

Blaine took the box in his hand studying the logo with an uncalled for concentration, afraid to look up again. "I don't."

Nodding his head, Mark looked down at his feet. "Ok."

"I should go."

"Ok." Mark smiled at him. It almost broke Blaine's heart.

"Maybe I'll see you around." Blaine wondered why he just said that, deciding that anything else would have been too sad or just a blatant lie.

"Yeah. Take care Blaine."

He turned around to leave.

"Take care."

* * *

"Ah sweet, Cheerios." Puck grabbed the two boxes from Blaine's hands who had just walked through the kitchen door, setting them in the cupboard. "Can't believe I just went a week without them." He looked over at Blaine, who still hadn't taken off his jacket or kicked off his shoes like he usually did when he came home. "Hey. Who spat in your strawberries this morning?"

"What? No one. I mean, it's nothing." Blaine leaned back against the counter. "Just tired from work."

"Ok. Well, I actually have to head off to work in a little bit. Just going to jump into the shower." Puck started walking, looking over his shoulder as he passed the doorway. "Want to join me?"

"What? No. Or, I mean, sure?"

He appeared in the door again, this time without a t-shirt and with a towel thrown over his shoulders. "You don't have to, it was just a question."

"Ok." Blaine looked down at his feet for a second, realizing just then that he still had his shoes on. "I'm just kind of tired."

Puck walked off into the bathroom. "No problem, babe."

"Ok."

Sliding the jacket off his shoulders, Blaine went back to the hallway to hang it on a hook, as he heard the sound of the shower running.

"Ok…"

* * *

"Um, I don't know?"

"Damn it… There has to be a fool-proof way of getting babies to sleep."

"You said you fed her?"

"Yes, Blaine." Cooper's voice sounded a little irritated through the phone. "I did everything."

"Then I guess you'll just have to wait until she's tired." Balancing the phone between his ear and shoulder, Blaine was looking through the fridge for something to eat. "Or until Becca is home, whatever happens sooner."

"You're little to no help you know, I thought you worked with kids."

Blaine found his brother's sudden freak-out sort of amusing. "My kids are old enough to burp themselves, though." He chuckled. "I've got to go, I've got tons of work to do and it would be nice to get that done before Puck gets home."

"Oh my God, I think she just fell asleep. Bye kid, talk to you some other time!"

"Bye Coop." Setting his phone on the kitchen counter, Blaine grabbed a box of leftover Chinese food, deciding that it would make a decent dinner when he heard the buzz of his phone.

"Did she wake up again?"

"Is that how the kids are answering their phones nowadays?"

It wasn't his brother on the other end of the line, but it also wasn't the voice of a stranger.

"Hi Blaine. How are you?" Mark sounded calm and collected, the complete opposite of what Blaine was feeling at the time, putting the little paper box of leftovers back into the fridge, hunger suddenly gone.

"Um, I, I'm good. You?" He grabbed the edge of the counter with his free hand, feeling the need to actually hold onto something for support.

"I'm good. You kept your number."

"Yeah, I. I mean, I didn't need to change it." Did he?

"Right."

Mark stayed silent as Blaine focused on taking big, deep breaths. "Why are you calling me now?"

"I wanted to ask you something."

"Ok?"

"Now, I know you have a boyfriend, and I'm not supposed to be seeing anyone for a while still. But, would you let me take you out to dinner? Just dinner. I just feel like I owe you something. For closure."

Closure. Exactly what he had always wanted. Precisely what he never felt.

"I, I don't know. I don't think so." Deep breaths.

"It's just dinner. I just want to make sure you're ok, and show you how deeply sorry I am. I couldn't show you that before, but now I've reached a place where I think I can. I know."

"I don't know." Closure.

"You looked good when I saw you in the store a couple of days ago."

"Did I?"

"I mean, as in you're doing good."

"Oh, yeah, I am. You looked good, too." Really.

"Just one dinner, Blaine."

"I guess, Ok. Just one, quick." He owed it to himself.

"Thank you Blaine."

"I'll text you when I'm free." Should he?

"Great. Bye Blaine, see you soon."

"Bye Mark."

Could he?

* * *

Lying on his stomach, Blaine had his book propped on the pillow, elbows on the bed while resting his head in his hands. He turned a page.

"Hi there. Sorry, kind of late night tonight." Puck snuck into the bedroom as quietly as he could, setting his bag down when he saw Blaine was awake. "I thought you'd be asleep."

"Wasn't tired."

"Ok." Puck disappeared to the bathroom quickly, soon coming back wearing a pair of boxers, crawling under the covers next to Blaine.

"So you're not tired?"

Blaine turned to look at Puck, who had a raised eyebrow and a smile on his lips as he lay on his side on the bed. He smiled back.

"Well, now I am." He felt a hand on the back of his upper thigh through the thin fabric of his pajama pants.

"Feel like I haven't been with you for so long…" Puck leaned over and started pressing soft little kisses against Blaine's naked back.

"I'm pretty exhausted, actually. I think I'm just going to sleep."

Puck just let his face rest on Blaine's back for a moment, breathing heavily against the soft skin. "Ok." He pushed himself back up and settled on his pillow, hand playing with the back of the hem of Blaine's pants. "I could just…"

Closing the book and setting it aside, Blaine looked over. "No, it's ok. I'm sorry. I'm just tired." He turned off the light on his side, leaving the room dark.

Puck smiled at him, pulling the covers over his body. "Ok."

"Love you."

"Love you too."

* * *

There was a text on his phone. It had been there for a couple of days now. Three, to be exact. Date, time and location. Technically it was Blaine who had decided the date and time, but here they were, confirmed. Table for two, uptown. Blaine wore a pair of black pants, a grey shirt and a blazer, and Puck was wearing his green work gear, out somewhere in the evening driving an ambulance and looking for people to help. He wondered what Mark was going to wear. A suit, probably, he almost always wore a suit.

Blaine hadn't decided if he would go or not. But if he was going, he would have to leave now or else he'd be late, probably too late, and then there wouldn't really be a point in going. But it was too late to cancel now, Mark might already be on his way. Reservations had been made.

He grabbed his keys and phone from the coffee table and stood up from the couch, and head out the door.

* * *

"Blaine! Good to see you showed up, how are you?" Mark seemingly appeared out of nowhere, as he seemed to be doing lately, by the door to the restaurant. He pulled Blaine in for a quick hug.

"Ok." Blaine said, both to the question and the familiar arms he suddenly found himself embraced in. He thought about how disappointed Cooper would probably be. How upset Puck would get if he knew. But, closure.

The dark grey five-a-clock shadow softly scratched against his forehead, and Blaine couldn't count on two hands how many memories the two-second occurrence brought back. He took a step back, a hand landing on his shoulder.

"Let's go inside."

Conversation started carefully as they sat down at their table, and Blaine looked up with a surprised look on his face as Mark ordered himself a seltzer.

"I don't drink anymore."

"Oh."

"And for you, sir?" The waitress referred to Blaine.

"I was thinking a Gin Tonic?" He looked up at Mark, who nodded at him reassuringly.

"You go ahead."

"Ok, then I'll have a Gin Tonic, easy on the tonic."

"Excellent." And with that the waitress went off with their drink orders.

Blaine looked over at Mark again, looking apologetic. "Sorry, but I don't think I can do this without a drink."

Mark smiled warmly in response. "Please, don't worry about me. I'm used to it, I barely notice anymore."

Unfolding his napkin, Blaine looked up through his lashes. "So, was it always alcohol?"

"No, not really. But it certainly didn't make it better."

"You know, it's weird being here with you." Blaine looked up, smile on his face. "And not having you spending 20 minutes discussing with the waitress about which wine we should be drinking."

Mark chuckled in response, a sound that had the ability to warm Blaine's heart. "Yeah, you're right. But as I said, it didn't make it better. It just made it worse."

"Ok." Blaine tore a little piece of bread in two, popping one into his mouth even though he should probably not waste his appetite seeing as he barely had any as it was. "This kind of reminds me of our first date. Or I guess it was the second, real date. I mean, the restaurant." Blaine looked around the room, at the fancy interior and beautiful people. "I've never been here before."

"It's pretty new. But good, I promise." Mark was smiling at him again. He hadn't actually ever stopped smiling, come to think of it.

"Your seltzer, sir." The waitress was back, drinks on tray, setting them down on the table. "And your Gin Tonic, enjoy."

"Thanks. I know this probably isn't the appropriate venue to do this in but I'll just go ahead and order another one of these already."

"Certainly."

Blaine brought his glass up to connect with Mark's, giving him a shy smile. "Sorry..."

He got a knowing smile in return. "It's fine, Blaine."

* * *

The food was good, and prices as high as you'd expect for portions that small. Conversation hadn't been very varied, Mark talked a little about work which was something he usually wouldn't do, and Blaine talked a little bit about Puck because Mark had asked.

"Blaine, there was something I wanted to tell you tonight."

Blaine looked into the bottom of his fourth drink and nodded.

"I am so, so sorry for how I treated you."

He looked up. For the first time that evening, Mark wasn't flashing him a smile.

"I know."

"I'm not asking you to forgive me." He paused for a moment, and Blaine's hand reflexively found his, resting on the table.

"I have forgiven you. I told you I would."

"You shouldn't even have to forgive me. I just want you to know that I'm sorry, and I get that now. I didn't get it before, that you can't treat another person like that. Someone that you love. And it wasn't alcohol, it was me. I was wrong."

"But I do forgive you, Mark. And it doesn't really matter if you know or believe it, because I had to do it for me." Letting the hand go, Blaine rested back on his chair. "And I probably stayed much longer than I should have, it wasn't fair to either of us."

Shaking his head, Mark leaned a bit over the table. "There is no way I'll let you take any blame for how things turned out between us, Blaine."

The waitress came back, picking up their finished plates to bring away. "Would you like to see the dessert menu? Or coffee, perhaps another drink?"

"I'm good, thanks." Blaine pushed his finished glass away.

"Come on Blaine, I know you want ice cream."

He shook his head. "No, honestly, I'm full." He hadn't exactly been hungry to start with.

Mark turned towards the waitress. "What ice creams do you have?"

"Bourbon vanilla, Italian chocolate and a mango sorbet, all home made here in our kitchen."

"What do you say, Blaine?"

He shook his head again, while smiling at the almost empty table. "I don't know. Chocolate, I guess?"

"Chocolate, then. I think that's it, thank you."

Blaine just looked at him in playful disbelief.

"What?" Mark chuckled. "You love ice cream. And Lucky Charms, and Gin Tonics, apparently. And cigarettes."

"I quit, actually." Blain chimed in, sort of proud at the revelation. "I never really smoked, though."

The gleam in Mark's eyes was so bright it could have set fire to ice. "Sure…" The smile accompanying it making his knees weak, and he wasn't even standing. "But good for you, Blaine."

"Thanks."

Mark leaned a little closer, voice just a bit lower than before. "Kind of wish I was in a position where I'd be allowed to say that I was proud." A hand scratched a little on the grey shadow of a beard on his face before adjusting his wrist watch.

Looking at him, Blaine tried really hard not to lean in closer as if he couldn't quite hear. Except did, very clearly.

"You can say it."

A pause.

"I'm really proud of you, Blaine." The smile was there again, and there was nothing playful or dishonest about it.

The ice cream arrived in front of Blaine, who quickly grabbed the spoon to have a taste, thinking something cool in his chest was probably in order because he was pretty sure his heart had just melted.

"Thank you. "

Blaine continued eating the ice cream, and at some point Mark ordered the check. They didn't really say much until they were both standing outside of the restaurant in the late, brisk evening.

"So, thank you very much for dinner."

"Please, don't mention it."

"And for, you know, explaining some things. I think it was good. It was good."

"Thank you for coming, and for listening."

Blaine was finding it very difficult to think about anything other than this very moment, right here.

"It was good. Almost felt too short." Mark looked down at his feet for a second. "Would you like to come over for another drink? Coffee for me, obviously, but I think I have some whiskey I just got recently as a gift…"

"Yes." Blaine was surprised by himself at the sudden decision, and Mark gave him his probably biggest smile of the evening.

"Alright, then. My car is right around the corner."

* * *

"This place is much bigger than the last one. And that place was pretty big." Blaine was relieved as he stepped into the living room, realizing that this way there wouldn't be any physical reminders of what happened as they used to share a home.

Mark walked into the kitchen, soon reappearing with a glass for Blaine, who was standing looking at the contents of the bookshelf, recognizing most titles from before.

"Thanks."

Mark stood beside him.

"So Noah is a good guy, huh? Not like me."

Blaine smiled at the statement, still scanning the titles in front of him. "He's a good guy." Turning a little more serious, Blaine touched the back of a photography book of black and white close-ups of people. "I don't know how I could have gotten over anything if it wasn't for him, he was like this great love that I never got to have that just came back into my life, and this time he could love me back." Blaine looked to his side, where Mark was standing. "What about you?"

"There hasn't been anyone. Part of the whole recovery thing I'm doing."

"No one, at all?"

Mark smiled as he shook his head, his turn to look at the shelf now. "No one."

"Ok." Letting the book go, Blaine took a sip from his glass, trying to suppress the little wince at the strong taste. Mark chuckled, as it didn't go unnoticed.

"Shut up…" Blaine kicked his foot slightly against Mark's shin, trying to seem serious as he took another sip, this time without wincing.

"You were the best thing that ever happened to me, Blaine. I can't believe I made you leave me."

Hearing the sincerity of his voice, Blaine decided it was probably wise not to look up. "You'll find someone."

A heavy sigh. "I'm not sure I even want to."

Blaine nodded. "Ok." He wasn't really sure what the right reply would be.

"You were perfect."

Shaking his head, Blaine finished the last of the drink and set the glass down on a clear space in the shelf, still not looking up. "I'm definitely not perfect."

"You were to me."

It was probably time to go home soon.

He could feel Mark moving behind him, setting a pair of heavy hands down on uncertain shoulders.

"I think I should go home." A breath came close behind his ear.

"Stay…"

"I can't." And if he couldn't, why couldn't he just move?

The hands moved down his back, stopping carefully by the level of the hem of his pants, Blaine absolutely frozen because for some reason he suddenly felt fear and something else he couldn't even place. One hand moved lower, under the back of his blazer, his own hands suddenly grabbing onto the shelf in front of him as Mark squeezed the left cheek of his backside, Blaine feeling like the only thing he could control at the time was to not lean into it. As the second hand followed, Blaine felt Mark take a deep breath by the back of his head. Blaine thought about Puck. Nice Puck, who didn't know where he was tonight. Puck who was out on the streets somewhere, probably helping some poor soul who had gotten hurt. Puck who helped patch him up on that night when one of the hands touching, squeezing him right now came down so hard on his face it broke his nose, and finally he found a way to take two steps quickly to the side, away.

"I can't do this, I don't even know what I'm doing here."

To his surprise, Mark drew his hands to himself, crossing them over his chest before settling on shoving them into his pockets. "I'm sorry, Blaine. I just… It's you, here. It's a lot."

"I, I'm going to leave now."

"I get that. Go home. Do you need a ride?"

"No." Blaine started walking off in the direction of the door, hearing footsteps following him shortly behind, yet almost consciously not getting too close. He opened the door and walked down the stairs, the sound of Mark's voice filling the stairwell instead of the expected noise of the door, closing.

"I meant everything I said Blaine, please don't let this change that."

He stopped walking down, still in Mark's line of sight. "I won't. But I don't think we should talk again." And with that, Blaine was soon out in the night, for some reason so much colder than it had been before.

_**TBC**_


	2. As the sun begins to fade

No one needed to know, Blaine decided. Did they? Sure, he shouldn't have gone to Mark's apartment, but nothing really happened. He needed to hear him out, listen to why he did certain things and why he was sorry. In a way, things felt easier upon hearing them. Mark had been like he'd been in the beginning, charming and sweet, and incredibly handsome. Many times Blaine had wondered how he could fall in love with someone who could be so mean, but now he finally got it and it felt like one less thing he could blame on himself.

It wasn't that crazy if Mark still had feelings for him, he hadn't gotten over him yet. Blaine thought to himself that if he hadn't had Puck now he'd probably still be standing there, hands grasping the bookshelf. Or maybe by now they'd be on the bed. With Mark, who'd pat him on the head when they were done, drive him to school the next day and give him a kiss on the cheek. Mark who was proud of him, tonight. The thought scared him.

Sitting on the couch in his pajama pants and a t-shirt, he heard the front door open, Puck appearing in the room with his bag thrown over his shoulder.

"Hi, you're still up?"

"Yeah."

"Ok." Puck put the bag on the floor and disappeared to the bathroom, emerging back a couple of minutes later.

"How was work?"

"Good, nothing exciting. Slow night. How was your day?"

"Good."

"Ok." Puck pulled down the zipper on his hoodie, taking it off and throwing it on the back of the couch.

"I had dinner with Mark tonight."

It took a moment to process, but then Puck just sort of looked at him in a shocked confusion. "What?"

Blaine stood up from the couch, not really knowing what to do with his hands for some reason.

"I bumped into him a couple of days ago on the street, then he called saying that he needed to tell me some things over dinner, and tonight I went. I'm sorry I didn't tell you, I didn't know what to do but I wanted to hear him out."

Shaking his head, Puck turned and walked into the kitchen.

"I'm sorry."

Soon Puck came back into the living room, water bottle in his hand. "Just, why did you do it, Blaine?"

He sort of shrugged. "For me, to hear him say he's sorry and mean it."

"Not so he could sit around talking about how he wants you back?"

Now it was Blaine's turn to shake his head, even though he knew there was some truth to what Puck had just said. "To get some closure, maybe. I just packed a bag and left one day, and that was it."

"Blaine…" Puck raised his arms a bit. "The thing is, you don't get to have closure with abusers. You leave them, and then you don't talk to them again. Do you not understand that?" He looked more upset than angry, but he was definitely pretty angry too.

He could feel his voice getting louder, more defensive. "Maybe some people do get closure though? Maybe it's not the same for everyone."

"What did he say?"

Blaine looked down at his feet. "He said he was sorry. He doesn't drink anymore and he's been getting his life back together."

Shaking his head again, Puck laughed ironically. "He needed to take you out for a whole dinner just to tell you that? I can't believe you let him, Blaine."

"Maybe I needed to hear these things? I didn't do it so he could get something off his chest, I did it so maybe one day mine can feel a little lighter. Do you have any idea how good it felt to hear him say that it was his fault, and not mine? And know that he meant it? That he was bad, not me. That he's proud of me."

By now Puck's voice had also gotten pretty loud. "But his opinion shouldn't matter to you! You should be over it, he should have lost the privilege of mattering to you since the very first time he tried something."

"It's not that easy, Puck."

"Why don't you care about my opinion? Is it not old or wise enough for you? This guy isn't only some fucking asshole who hurt you, he's your ex! How am I supposed to feel about you going out to dinner with him? You used to love him, you used to share a bed with him. Have you forgotten what you told me about what he used to do to you on that bed, Blaine?" Puck paced for a second, tossing the bottle between his hands. "You know I am proud of you every day."

Blaine just looked away for a moment.

"So what else did he say?"

"Nothing really, we just talked."

"Just talked, like old times?"

"Maybe."

"Then what?"

Blaine paused for a moment, knowing that so far he didn't even think he'd said anything that bad and the reaction was already pretty strong. What about what happened after the restaurant, what about that last drink.

"Now I know there's something. Just say it."

He looked up into a pair of almost ice cold eyes, the vision chilling his spine. "I had one last drink, at his place."

Puck shrugged, laughing again. "I thought you said he didn't drink."

"He didn't"

"So he's out there getting you drinks all night, and I think we all know how you get with a little alcohol in you."

Blaine opened his mouth to speak, Puck raising his hand to interrupt him while continuing. "He, stays sober the whole time, talking about how sorry he is and how he's a new person or whatever. Then you go to his place. I know this game, Blaine, I fucking invented this game. I tried it on you once, you ended up with a bloody face. It's not a nice game to be playing, Blaine."

"It wasn't like that, he just happens to be sober these days and I, I don't know…"

"So what was so important that he still had to tell you after dinner that he couldn't just tell you at the restaurant?"

Blaine was silent again, knowing sometime soon he'd really lose this argument.

"What happened, Blaine?"

"I had one quick drink, and then I left."

"Before you left?"

"I, I guess he kind of made it clear that he sort of did want me back."

"See! What the hell was this about then, I was right."

"But that doesn't change everything else that he said. It's just, he hasn't been with anyone since me, but I'm sure he knows that we could never be again."

"Now we're just guessing though, aren't we Blaine."

Deep breaths.

"Did you kiss him?"

"No." Blaine shook his head. "No."

Puck stared at him intensely, breathing through his nose while his chest fell up and down. "You did something Blaine, I can tell."

"I didn't do anything."

"He did something, then. And you better start explaining pretty fucking soon."

Another silence.

"What did he do? You know a kiss is still a kiss even if he's the one who kissed you."

"He didn't kiss me."

Puck took a step closer, lowering his voice. "So he touched you."

"Just for a second. Then I left, I swear."

Blaine's feet stayed planted on the floor, frozen, as Puck circled around him, settling on right behind him. Two hands landed on his backside, barely touching at first.

"Like this?" The whisper of cold breath going down the back of the collar of his t-shirt made the tiny hairs on his neck stand.

The right hand squeezed hard, really hard, and Blaine tried to suppress the wince with a deep, shaky breath. The hands went up his back, giving him a shove forward as Blaine kept his eyes closed, trying to regain his balance.

"I'm sorry."

He heard footsteps leaving the room. "I'm going to bed."

Blaine nodded. "Can I get a…" A pillow and a blanket were thrown at him from the bedroom door before it closed. "…ok."

He tossed the pillow on the couch, laying down the blanket by the other side taking a look at the bed he'd made for himself before turning off the light.

He guessed to himself that he probably deserved less.

* * *

"Blaine…"

It was barely a whisper as a gentle hand shook his shoulder in the dark room, waking him up from almost being asleep.

It was hard to see anything in the dark, but from what Blaine could make out Puck didn't look angry anymore, standing hunched over him by the sofa. "What time is it?"

"I don't know. Like 2."

Blaine blinked a couple of times, eyes adjusting to the darkness.

"Come to bed." Puck brought a hand up to stroke Blaine's cheek. He was looking at him carefully.

"Ok."

The hand travelled down Blaine's side until it found his, grabbing it and pulling him to his feet, letting himself be led to the bedroom. Once they had reached the bed, Puck stood in front of it pulling Blaine in for a hug, hand travelling up and down his spine.

"I'm sorry, I was pretty mean."

"I'm sorry too." A soft kiss landed on top of his head, the hands on his back reminding him of how he'd missed those hands. Missed those lips. He turned his head up and pushed his own against them in a hard kiss, Puck responding to it immediately as the hands snuck under his t-shirt, eventually breaking apart quickly to pull it over his head.

Blaine almost felt rushed grabbing Puck by his hands and pulling him down over him on the bed, feeling like he'd almost lose himself in the groping and sucking, almost biting, sometimes coming up for air, looking each other in the eyes.

"Fuck me…" His voice was a coarse whisper.

"Uh huh…" Puck was grinding his hips against Blaine's, groaning against his neck in response to the fingers digging into his back.

"Hard… Fuck me really hard. 'til it hurts."

"Mhm…"

Blaine barely noticed that Puck's movements suddenly turned a little more tentative. He grabbed one of Puck's hands, pulling it up toward his head.

"Pull it…"

Dragging his fingers gently against Blaine's scalp, he stopped kissing, leaning on his elbow to look down at his flustered boyfriend.

He whispered. "You make it sound like you want me to punish you…"

It was as if something just became clear in Blaine's mind as his eyes seemed to turn a shade darker in the hint of the vague moonlight.

"Maybe I should be punished?" The voice was low, steady and unsteady at the same time.

Puck barely noticeably shook his head. "No…"

"No?" Blaine looked as if he honestly didn't know the answer to his question, as Puck shook his head again, genuine, reassuring smile on his lips.

"No."

Blaine nodded, as tears in his eyes began to fog his vision. "Ok." A soft kiss landed on his lips as a thumb gently wiped away a wet trail on the side of his face.

"I think you should get some sleep."

Again, Blaine nodded, as a cover was pulled over his body, all the way up to his shoulders.

"Everything is fine Blaine. Ok?"

Giving one last nod, Blaine took a deep, shaky breath.

"Ok."

There were a couple of minutes of silence, and Puck thought Blaine had fallen asleep until he heard the unsteady sound of his voice.

"Could you please not tell Cooper?"

"Sure, babe." Puck reached down in between them, finding Blaine's hand and giving it a little squeeze.

"Sure."

* * *

"Here…" Cooper stood in his living room, handing over his little baby girl to Puck. "Go to uncle Puck and have a lovely evening watching him drink my beer on my couch while watching my cable."

"Hey!" Puck took Emma into his arms, throwing Cooper a look. "I am great with kids."

"At least Blaine will be here later." Cooper nudged his daughter's cheek. He looked up. "Do you think she looks like me?"

Puck actually made a concentrated attempt at finding an answer to the question. "Yeah… Yeah, she does." Cooper visibly lighting up a little at his words.

"I also think she looks like Blaine. Because, you know, they're about the same height. I get the two confused quite a lot." He turned Emma to face him, lifting her up above. "Is that you Blaine? Or is it just Emma! Once I walked down the street and I thought I saw your uncle so I said 'Hi Blaine!', turns out it was just a chipmunk."

Cooper laughed, looking at his brother's boyfriend actually being pretty alright with kids. "So when is the chipmunk coming?"

Settling Emma back into his arms, Puck threw a glance at his wristwatch. "The chipmunk should be here in about an hour, when are you leaving?"

Leaning over, Cooper kissed his daughter on the cheek before walking over to grab his jacket hanging on chair. "I'm supposed to be leaving ten minutes ago… Are you all set?"

"I think I've got it covered."

"Then I'm off to pick up my fiancée and have a baby-free evening, have fun you two!"

"Hey Cooper, wait…" Puck followed him in the hallway, holding the girl close to his chest and hoping that the sudden frantic beating of his heart couldn't make her deaf.

"Yes?"

Puck thought about Blaine. About how he'd put himself in a stupid situation that easily could have escalated into something he wouldn't have been able to control. How Blaine wanted to understand why someone who was supposed to love him could make him feel so unloved. He thought about how worried he was that he would do something like that again, and maybe then things would turn really ugly. About how he'd have to find a way to prevent that from happening again.

"Puck?"

He thought about the last words Blaine had said to him that night.

"Sorry… I had a question about the food but I just realize you said there was sweet potato mash in the freezer."

"Yeah, just let it defrost or pop it in the microwave and if you do, make sure it's not too hot."

"Got it. Later, Coop!"

"Bye Puck, and thanks so much for stepping in."

"No problem."

* * *

About an hour later, there was a knock on the door.

"Hi, we have to be quiet a bit because I like, just got her to sleep." Puck gave Blaine a quick kiss and let him through the door.

"Alright. Where is she?"

"Crib."

Blaine walked into his brother's apartment and into the bedroom, taking a look at the little sleeping figure in the crib next to the bed. In the background he heard careful footsteps, settling on standing just behind him and a little to his side, setting an arm on his shoulder.

"I'm pretty awesome, just fed her and then she dosed off."

Blaine smiled.

"I was kidding earlier that she looks like you, but now when I see her I actually think she does."

"Nah…" His smile didn't falter.

"I think so."

"Maybe. Marginally." Blaine felt two strong arms embrace him from behind.

"How would you feel about pushing this thing out into the living room and having sex on your brother's bed..?"

"Absolutely hate that idea." Looking over his shoulder, Blaine gave him a nonplussed look.

"Worth a shot."

They walked out into the living room, gently setting the door ajar behind them, and sat on the couch.

Puck began flipping through channels. "Want to watch a movie or something?"

"Sure. Whatever's good." Blaine looked down at his hands for a moment before carefully looking up at Puck. "Did you tell him?"

Still looking at the screen, Puck wasn't really registering what channels he had already checked or what was on them anymore. "No."

"Ok." Blaine nodded, looking back down at his hands.

"I thought about it." He stopped pressing buttons on the remote.

Another nod.

Puck looked over now, small smile on his lips. "But I think you learned your lesson."

Looking relieved, Blaine smiled back. "Yeah."

"But you have to promise me something." Puck's hand came down to rest on Blaine's knee. "Never pull something like that again, Blaine."

"I won't. I promise."

"And talk to me. I understand that there are things that you need to hear, but that just wasn't the right way of going about it."

"I'm really sorry."

Puck turned towards him now, leaning over him on the couch. "But most importantly…" His hands travelled up Blaine's legs, sneaking in behind him cupping his cheeks, squeezing. "This is mine…"

A shudder could be heard from underneath him.

"Yes… all yours." Straightening up, Blaine crawled out from underneath Puck, grabbing his shoulders and pushing him back against the cushions on the couch to straddle him, Puck's hands on his body not leaving their position.

One of them came down with a sharp slap.

"Ouch…" Blaine's mouth was sucking on Puck's bottom lip.

"Maybe I haven't forgiven you just yet…"

In the background, there was a faint sound of a baby, crying. Within a couple of seconds, there was nothing faint about it anymore.

Blaine groaned against Puck's neck, rising up from the couch. "I'll go."

"I'll come with you."

* * *

"You're doing good there, Blainers!" Puck was jogging backwards in front of him, on the track between the rivers and the trees.

"Am I dead?" He kept going, undeniably irritated at his boyfriend's copious amounts of cheerfulness. "You make me want to run less, you know."

Puck clapped his hands and turned to run forwards again. "Come on, more running and less complaining."

After about another 15 minutes of this torture, which Blaine definitely thought must have been something more like 50, they finally reached the street on which they lived.

Blaine stood at the bottom of the stairs, breathing heavily. "Carry me, please. This is all your fault."

Walking over to him, Puck dipped down a little and grabbed Blaine, lifting him off the ground.

"Ok, ok! I was kidding, let me down." His feet landed on the floor with a loud thump. Instead, he felt Puck grab a hold on his hand, dragging him up the stairs.

Once inside their apartment, Puck started peeling off his clothes on the way to the bathroom. "I'd love for you to join me in the shower, but I have to be ready for work in like ten minutes."

Collapsing on the couch, Blaine let out a dissatisfied moan. "I think I'm too beat anyway."

"So I'll go first?" Puck's head popped into his line of view from the hallway.

"Yes, yes of course."

"I'll hurry up. You did great out there today by the way."

Closing his eyes, he could feel himself drifting off into a well-deserved nap.

"Yeah right…"

* * *

"Thank you so much, little brother, I know you've been working all day. I have to run, do you have everything?" Cooper shoved the diaper bag into Blaine's arms the second he walked in the door.

"Uh, I'll figure it out."

"She's asleep, probably will be for the rest of the evening." Cooper grabbed his keys and phone lying on the drawer, turning to give his brother a quick hug. "You're a life-saver, call if there's anything."

"I will." And with that, Blaine found himself alone standing in his brother's hallway, holding a diaper bag. He walked into the apartment, into the bedroom where Emma was sleeping in her little crib to check on her. He sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at the baby's little chest fall up and down with quick, tiny breaths of air.

"Hi there, Emma." Reaching into the crib, he adjusted the little sock that was about to fall off her foot. "Cold… isn't it?" Even though she was so small and so young, Blaine could see his brother and Becca in her.

"You know, my mom's name was Emma. I didn't really get a chance to know her."

In her sleep, his niece managed to kick off the sock again, Blaine deciding that it might as well stay off then.

"But I can't wait to get to know you."

* * *

"How was babysitting?" Puck, lying on the bed looked up from his phone at Blaine as he entered the bedroom, digging into his closet to find his pajama pants.

"Really good. I mean, she was asleep the whole time." He pulled his t-shirt over his head and unbuttoned his pants. "How was work?"

"Ok. Johnson was out sick so I had to drive around with an intern but that was alright."

"Ok." Blaine disappeared for moment, returning with a book that he sat down on his nightstand.

"Is it good?" Puck gestured a nod towards the book.

Climbing onto the bed, Blaine crawled under the covers as Puck set his phone aside. "Yeah."

Leaning over, Puck reached towards the lamp on Blaine's nightstand, turning it off to leave the room dark.

A light chuckle bounced between the walls. "Uh, I was going to read?" Blaine could feel Puck leaving a trail of kisses down his stomach.

"I was going to have my way with you."

Reclining against the pillows, Blaine took a deep breath. "Oh, really…"

"Uh huh…" Puck nudged at Blaine to lift his hips, pulling pants and underwear down his legs, eventually taking Blaine's hard length into his mouth.

"That's good…" He could feel a hand trail up his body, making it to his face, fingers asking for permission to enter his mouth and he gladly accepted. The other hand was underneath him, squeezing and rubbing his cheeks, spreading one to the side as the other hand left Blaine's mouth.

"Oh god…" One finger was working on him, shortly followed by a second; all the while Puck was doing amazing things with his mouth. A hand was now making its way up his chest, gently flicking and pinching on a nipple. A couple of more minutes of this was all that he could endure.

Puck came lying down next to him on the bed, content little smile on his face. "How was it?"

Blaine could barely catch his breath. "Really, really good." He smiled back. "I think I might have passed out there for a second."

"You should sleep, you had a long day."

"What about you?" Blaine let his hand resting on Puck's thigh travel up, giving his length a little squeeze through his boxers.

"It's Ok, but tomorrow morning I want you, on your knees, in the shower."

Blaine laughed, curling his hand into a ball and bringing it up against Puck's in the air, giving it a little fist-bump. "You've got yourself a deal." He was still panting.

"Good, babe." Puck disappeared into the bathroom, returning a couple of minutes later to a sleeping Blaine, crawling back next to him again.

Giving him a kiss on his forehead he took a look at him, noticing that for the first time in a while he actually looked peaceful.

"I fucking love you."

Letting out a little noise from somewhere in his throat, Blaine stirred a bit while pulling the covers higher over his body.

"Love you too…"

And the truth was that Blaine had never loved anybody else as much as he loved him.

_**FIN**_

* * *

_For some reason this installment almost wrote itself, and I really hope everyone enjoyed it!_


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